Games PC Gamers got burned on

When big blockbuster games get ported to PC, we tend to be cautious about our excitement, as PC gamers have been shafted over the years with tons of bad console ports. Our blood boils when we see crucial missing options like Vsync, Anti-Aliasing, and high-resolution textures. Worse even is when the games flat out don't work as they should. We’ve put together a list of ten titles that run poorly on the PC because they’re lazy console ports.

Watching one of gaming's most well-known faces plummet multiple stories and impale herself on a jagged iron pipe is an uncomfortable experience, to say the least. But wait, she's not done. Nearly sobbing, she proceeds to wrench her unfortunate new appendage from her side while emitting a skin-crawling scream. And that's just the beginning.

The first time I saw the latest Tomb Raider game in action, my heart nearly exploded out of my chest – probably in an effort to escape from the carnage. The rest of my body, meanwhile, wanted nothing more than to follow it. Lara Croft was in pain. Real pain. Blinding pain. Not “Rawr, me videogame character, me shrug off bullet to face like it tiny blind kitten baby” pain. It was ugly, dirty, and downright horrific. And it wouldn't stop happening. Lara constantly fell, slipped, and survived by clawing rocks until her fingernails were bloody scraps. The demo reveled in pain, said many pundits. It was “torture porn,” sharing a straightjacket with movies like SAW and the part of our brains that loves to stare at car wrecks.

I, however, disagree completely. Not only that, I think this is something the gaming industry could use a whole lot more of. Find out why after the break.

The list of 3D Vision-compatible games is growing continuously. It currently boasts over 400 titles, including Resident Evil 5, Borderlands, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and Star Trek D-A-C. All 3D Vision-capable notebooks will ship with 3D Vision active-shutter glasses.

“NVIDIA and ASUS have a passion for gaming and cutting-edge technology, and this is another example of how great companies working together can deliver awesome new platforms to our combined customers,” said Asustek’s PC Wang. The G51J 3D will hit the market next month.

I got a chance to talk to Karen Dyer, the actor who plays Sheva in Resident Evil 5, about the motion capture process for the game, her crash course in pistol and rifle use, and what it's like to play yourself in a game. Check the video after the jump!

We love the PC as much as more than anyone ever, but even we’ll admit that consoles play host to some top-notch games. Two of our recent favorites? Resident Evil 5 and Red Faction: Guerrilla. However, for those of you who haven’t started roaming the street corners, searching for some console lovin’, there’s still hope. Both games are making their PC debuts this September.

First up, Resident Evil 5’s shambling our way on September 14, with support Nvidia’s 3D Vision hardware. You’ll also have access to new costumes, and an upgraded version of the game’s Mercenaries mode.

Red Faction, meanwhile, is computerizing the revolution on September 15. Unlike its undead-obliterating cousin, Red Faction’s not really bringing anything new to the PC. Who cares, though? It’s a game that allows and encourages the systematic destruction of a small country’s worth of buildings. You’ll buy it, and you will never regret anything ever again.

We’re not going to lie; relations with our Xbox 360 have been strained as of late. Its once-alluring vanilla sheen has faded to a dull gray. At one time effortlessly slim and sleek, its hard drive has fallen into a self-destructive cycle of binge downloading and purging. The passive-aggressive blog posts aren’t helping. And now, as though a sign from the heavens to ease our conflicted minds, Resident Evil 5 is officially infecting PCs the world over. Or, at the very least, in Poland.

"We know for sure that a PC version RE5 will be released. We don't know when exactly but we expect that it will arrive to shops in second half 2009,” said Jerzy Cichocki of CD Projeckt, the company that publishes Capcom titles in Poland.

However, the Xbox 360 isn’t ready to relinquish its control on our Gamerscores (and consequently, our hearts) just yet. Fable II’s radioactive crumb trail, sadly, has no intention of illuminating a path to the PC – at least, not in the near future.

"We're not working on a PC version of Fable II... If this changes we'll make sure you know about it on our website(s),” said Lionhead community head “Woody” after rumors of a PC port surfaced.

Resident Evil 4's PC port notwithstanding, the Resident Evil series of survival-horror games is among the more enjoyable reasons to wet yourself. Thus, the possibility that the hide-and-go-aiiiieeee series' latest entry might be making its way over to our platform of choice inspires both excitement and trepidation.

Sadly, at this point, RE5's PC release is unconfirmed. After a PC version appeared alongside its console counterparts on a recent Capcom release list, Big Download attempted to get ahold of Capcom to verify the port's existence. In response, a Capcom rep waved the site away, merely saying that no official announcements have been made. Not a "yes," but certainly not a "no."

Our guess? It's coming. Capcom has been lavishing the PC with ports as of late, so we don't see why it wouldn't do the same for one of its biggest titles. At any rate, the game is slated to arrive on March 13. Common sense says that we'll at least hear something about the PC's dose of the T-virus before then.